


Whispering Stars

by Meynara



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adam (Voltron) is Beautiful and Does Not Deserve This, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Confused Sendak (Voltron), Even if the setting changes there are some things that will happen regardless, Galra Reverse Bang 2018, Gay Disaster Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Rating subject to change, there isn't violence but there is descriptions of bloody wounds and such?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 02:14:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16254599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meynara/pseuds/Meynara
Summary: There is a Universe where the Galra wage war, taking countless lives for their own personal gain, their reign of conquest unchallenged for millennia until the Lions of Voltron are found and team up to battle against them, to protect the innocent and defend the Universe.This is not that Universe.When an intelligence gathering operation goes wrong, Commander Sendak finds himself with three humans, a species so fresh to space travel that they had not appeared on the radars of other space-faring races. One human in particular is injured due to the actions of his own crew, and he must correct this mistake. His honor demands it.But what else may come from something that should be as simple as giving the man medical treatment and sending him on his way?





	Whispering Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Galra Reverse Bang](https://galrareversebang.tumblr.com/) over on tumblr.
> 
> Art by the wonderful [borossir](http://borossir.tumblr.com/post/178285796991/hey-heres-my-piece-for-the) over on tumblr!

When Shiro first awoke, it was to brightness. Lights were glaring overhead, almost directly on him as someone puttered around nearby, someone he didn't recognize. Moving to sit up, he found himself restrained -- and the movement itself caused his head to start throbbing. The movement was enough to draw attention from the puttering unknown, causing them (him?) to move closer, and when they did, Shiro took in a sharp breath.

_ Alien _ . There was no mistaking this being for anything else. What looked to be purple fur all along their head, with pointed ears sticking out from the sides almost like a cat's -- and a tail to match behind, if Shiro wasn't hallucinating that on top of the rest -- and what appeared to be two yellow orbs in place of eyes.

"Wh-who are  _ you _ , what are you  **doing** to me?" There was an edge of panic in Shiro's voice, something he didn't particularly care for, but it was too late to hide it. He tried to lift his right arm, wanting to push the being away, but he felt nothing.

Nothing, no restraints, no pressure, but the arm wasn't lifting either.

"Easy, Shirogane," the voice coming from the being was almost soothing aside from the fact that it came from an alien of all things. "I am attempting to rectify a mistake that was made on our part. You are safe, Lieutenant. We cannot risk you harming yourself in your current state, so I need you to calm down for me."

"Calm  _ down _ ? You have me strapped down to a table, and I can barely even lift my  **head** !" If Shiro sounded desperate, he couldn't really help that. His heart rate was spiking, the lights overhead were blinding, the alien at his bedside was confusing, and he had no idea where the Holts were. All in all, this was a failure of a mission in his eyes.

Sighing, the being shook his (his, Shiro was  _ sure  _ of it) head, turning away from Shiro and the bed he was laying on to press a button along the wall. "Commander Sendak, permission for the other Huu Mans to visit my patient?"

There was a pause before a deep voice responded over the intercom like device. "Permission granted, Druid Prulkug. I will bring them by myself."

"Understood, Commander." The comms cut off as the alien -- Prulkug? -- turned back to Shiro, looking almost sad. "I hope that seeing your kinsmen will aid in the healing process. As it is, there is much to be done, and not much time to do it in for optimal results."

Shiro's eyes narrowed, his expression a mixture of confusion and suspicion. He wasn't a naturally suspicious person, but he'd seen more than enough movies to know that meeting someone of another culture was always terrifying, always something to be wary of. And aliens?  _ Definitely  _ another culture.

"What do you need to do? Why am I being restrained? Why can't I feel my arm?"

His questions went unanswered as the alien man gave a small, sad smile before turning away, readying... _ something _ while waiting for the man who would be bringing the Holts by. At least, he hoped that they were bringing the Holts. It would be easier to escape if they were all together, after all.

After a few minutes, the door to the room slid open and Shiro felt the first stirrings of relief in his mind, in his body as Matt and Sam Holt entered the room, neither looking the worse for wear and both clad in their uniforms. A large smile broke out on Matt's face as he stepped over to the bed, though he was careful not to touch Shiro -- or his restraints. "Hey, glad to see you're awake, you giving the Druids a hard time, Shiro?"

"Druids? Why wouldn't I give them a hard time? Aren't we captured?" His voice was colored with confusion, especially seeing Sam Holt hanging back, along with a rather large, rather fluffy alien, someone who should have been intimidating, but instead seemed to be quite... _ tame _ , given his interaction with the Commander.

Shiro's attention was drawn back to Matt, who finally reached over to touch Shiro, carefully only placing his hand on Shiro's forehead. "Nah, we're not prisoners. Right now, we're guests, and you're a patient. Druids are like their doctors, and...you're not in a good way, dude. You  _ need  _ to cooperate with them, okay? The sooner you cooperate, the sooner we can head back home with what we've learned, but we can't even  _ think  _ of doing that until you're healed."

The confusion on his face only deepened as Shiro looked up at Matt, gaze softening. "But I don't feel bad right now? I have a headache, and I'm annoyed that I'm being held in place, but..."

"...just, trust me, Shiro. If you can't trust the Druids, if you can't trust the Galra, trust  _ me _ . I won't let them hurt you further."

Shiro opened his mouth, intent on asking what Matt meant, but then the other three occupants of the room made themselves known once more. The Druid moved around to the other side of where Shiro was laying, going to his left arm and carefully sticking an IV line into the vein, while Sam and the other, taller and fluffier alien moved to stand beside and just behind Matt. "So this is Lieutenant Shirogane," the taller alien stated, voice rumbling low, though he appeared to be caught somewhere between exasperated and amused. "I am Commander Sendak, the commanding officer of this vessel, and I would appreciate it if you didn't give my Druids such a hard time."

"I swear I'm not trying to give them a hard time," Shiro's voice was soft, feeling something almost cooling going through his body, gaze locking onto Sendak. "I...I'm just confused." A hand came to rest on his right shoulder, and Shiro's eyes moved to look and see who it was attached to -- Sam -- looking for all the world as if he was about to cry. "I just don't know  **what** is going  _ on _ . Commander Holt,  **_please_ ** , what's happening?"

As he watched, everything started to become fuzzy. The last thing he remembered was Sam's voice.

"Just rest, son. When you wake, we'll explain  _ everything _ , but right now? Rest."

* * *

As the Druids descended on Shiro, with a mixture of modern medical technology and their unique brand of magic, Sendak stood with the two men that had come with Shirogane -- Commander and Cadet Holt. The Cadet looked worried, unable to hide the fear in his eyes, while his father, the Commander, stood tall with his hands clasped behind him.

It spoke of  _ years  _ of training, of discipline, that the elder Holt stood in such a way, something Sendak was quick to notice, filing the information away in his mind. While Sendak was a military commander, commanding fleets under Emperor Lotor for many decaphoebes, he was  _ also  _ often one sent to meet with other space-faring races, to see if they were compatible with the Galra for the purposes of making an alliance. Other leaders would be the ones to actually talk with the delegates from the race in question, when the time came, but Sendak?

Sendak watched, he observed, and what he saw was good. These ‘humans’ were  _ not  _ a warrior race, not like the Galra, but they  **were** explorers and had the capability of maintaining discipline when necessary. The younger ones, like Cadet Holt, were still  _ young _ , were still learning -- and he was afraid for his friend’s fate. While some might not believe such, Sendak  **could** empathize with that.

And then there was the third human, Shirogane, the Lieutenant who wanted to fight while missing an arm and weak from blood loss. They might not be a warrior race as a whole, but his passion, his rush to try and escape to protect himself and (presumably) find his crew was  _ very  _ admirable. The fact that he wasn’t capable of doing such didn’t diminish the admiration at all. That he had even made the attempt? That was something to pay attention to.

Lieutenant Shirogane was someone to pay attention to.

“Dad?” Cadet Holt’s voice was soft as he looked to the Commander, Sendak’s ears twitching slightly as he kept his gaze on the Druids and their work, leaving the father and son to converse without his presence being quite so noticed. “Dad, Shiro’s gonna be alright, yeah?”

“Matt…” Commander Holt sighed, turning to look at his son, his posture relaxing slightly. “We’ll have to wait and see. But have faith. With how advanced they are? I’m sure replacing an arm is nothing to the Galra.”

Pursing his lips, Matt hummed and turned his gaze back to the window, to the room beyond where they were working away at where Shiro’s arm should have been.

Sendak...could only feel  **_guilt_ ** for how things had gone. They had gone to collect samples of their own from the moon the humans had named Kerberos, not knowing that humans had expanded out as far as they had. So when they found the three humans along with the samples -- one pointedly missing his arm, resting by the edge of the airlock -- he had known they had made a big mistake.

A mistake he was determined to rectify at the very least.

Of course, this also meant that  **he** would be the one to actually make contact with the leaders of Earth, to see about bringing Earth into the intergalactic alliance they had that spanned over many systems, many galaxies. But before they did that, they would restore Shirogane as best as they could.

Still, he could begin to build bridges, here and now, with these two who were watching as their comrade was restored. Clearing his throat, Sendak carefully lifted an arm -- his left, one that had been lost to him many decaphoebes ago, long enough that he couldn’t remember how long it had been. “Cadet Holt, I  _ assure  _ you, they can do something for the Lieutenant. As long as his body doesn’t reject it, his arm will be better equipped than what he had naturally.”

Startled, Cadet Holt looked over at Sendak, his eyes wide. “O-oh, right, I -- I apologize, sir.” He swallowed, straightening his posture. “I’m not  _ trying  _ to doubt the talents of your crew, I’m just...not really sure what to expect. It is very  _ different  _ from what we have back home.”

“Oh, that I imagine it is,” Sendak chuckled, a flash of fang only  _ just  _ visible, enough so that it unnerved the Cadet. Good. “We have been travelling through the stars for quite some time, after all. It only stands to reason that we have better and  _ different  _ technology than what you would know.”

The Cadet hummed softly, looking away, back to the window that allowed them to watch the Druids at work. “Time and determination does give a certain advantage,” he admits, clasping his hands behind his back, almost unconsciously mimicking his father’s posture with only a slight slouch. “I’d love to learn more about the things you have, especially the communications systems, sir. Just knowing that there’s better than what we have…? It’s exciting to think about! Well. When I’m not preoccupied.”

“Mm, I understand.” Sendak understood better than Cadet Holt might realize. “Once your pilot is on the way to recovery, I’m certain one of my soldiers can show you some of what we have. Both of you. Perhaps even a practical demonstration, to try and contact your planet. Our Druids will need to speak with your medical personnel and perhaps engineers, to ensure the Lieutenant has adequate care for his arm in the future, after all.”

He could hear, more than see the reaction from Commander Holt -- a quick intake of breath, posture stiffening once more -- telling that perhaps he hadn’t thought that far ahead.

Or that he had thought it would be difficult to make contact with his home.

“This isn’t typically how we regard first contact with a new species,” Sendak continued after a moment, watching as the Druids began to disperse, allowing more of a view of Shirogane, revealing that the arm had (at least for the time being) taken well to the rest of his body. “Typically there is a period of observation, then someone a bit more... _ diplomatic _ than I am is sent in. However, with circumstances being how they are, I’ll have to fill in.”

One of the Druids came through the door, over to Sendak, letting out a sigh. “Commander, the operation was a success. Until Shirogane wakes, we won’t know how much of a success, but his body isn’t rejecting the addition, and that is where failure is most likely to occur.”

“Excellent. Thank you, Druid.” Clenching his organic hand into a fist, pressed against his chest, he gave a very slight bow towards the Druid. “Vrepit Sa.”

The Druid mimicked the salute before quickly walking away, back into the room where it appeared Shiro was being moved to another bed, to be left to rest. “He’ll wake up soon, right?” Cadet Holt’s voice was slightly higher than before, as if he was afraid, even though he had been close enough to hear the Druid speak.

“Soon, yes. Let us allow him some rest, however. We are certain to be notified when he wakes.” Giving the Lieutenant one last look, Sendak could now see clearly the other mark that indicated to what extent they had gone for the young man -- a tuft of white hair at the front, all pigment gone from the amount of quintessence that had gone through his body to ensure the arm took.

Lieutenant Shirogane would be well. Sendak was  _ certain  _ of it.

* * *

When Shiro woke next, almost immediately he began moving, arms pulling at restraints that weren’t there any longer, making his arms almost comically raise into the air, pulling the blanket off of the top part of his body. Using his left arm, he pushed himself up to sit, blinking his eyes as he looked around, somewhat surprised to find he wasn’t attached to  _ anything _ . There was still an IV port in his left arm, or something that was similar as far as he could tell, but there wasn’t currently a line connected to it.

He could get up and walk out if he wanted. In fact, he moved to try and do so, only to be interrupted by a pleasant, higher pitched voice. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Lieutenant.” Startled, he turned his body to look around, until finally he spotted the Galra who had spoken, a shorter member of the species who was certainly fluffy, short tail almost wagging behind her as she finished inputting data before turning to look at Shiro. “I am Adin, I am here to assist in your recovery. How are you feeling? Can you use your arm?”

“My...arm?” Immediately, his eyes fell to his left arm, lifting it and curling his fingers in to a fist. “It seems fine?”

“Your other arm, Lieutenant,” Adin sounded amused, though it was hard to tell by watching her, her face not seeming to give much of anything away. “The one we attached to your body, we need to ensure that the nerves connected properly with it so that you can use it the way it’s intended. We had a little bit of trouble, given we aren’t familiar with human anatomy, so we need to do more testing than usual to ensure it’s...usable.”

His head turned, looking at his right arm, doing a double take as he saw it was no longer flesh and bone, but metal. It didn’t feel heavy, to it’s credit, feeling about the same as his arm would have been. Fingers again curled into a fist, and he could feel what he was doing, could feel as his fingers curled together, touching the palm, rolling his shoulder and watching as his arm went with it. “It seems usable enough to me,” he said, tone rather dry. “I -- did I, did my arm…? Was it lost?”

“It was damaged and we did not have the knowledge necessary to try to reattach it without complications, Lieutenant.” Adin’s voice was soft, gentle even as she stepped closer, hands carefully brushing along the metal, causing Shiro to shiver slightly, feeling the bits of fur tickling along the length. “We will be ensuring that you are fully capable of using your arm before we leave your planet. Commander Sendak wanted to be sure you could at least control it before we departed for Earth.”

Shiro felt his heart slam against his chest. “I’m...sorry? Earth? We -- you’re--”

Before he could stammer any more, however, the door to his recovery room opened, and in came the Holts, both looking anxious until they saw that Shiro was merely sitting, sitting and speaking, not fighting as he had tried to do before. Matt was quick to move to his side, standing on his left while Sam moved to stand to his right, keeping a short distance from the short Galra, who still seemed to be gently prodding at his arm.

“Shiro, man, am I glad to see you awake,” Matt grinned, giving Shiro a gentle slap to the back. “It’s been so weird without you, but the Galra have such amazing technology! Commander Sendak had one of his men show me their communications array and it’s so far advanced from what we have, I had trouble keeping up with it!”

Sam chuckled as Adin moved away, going to the console to input more information. “You know what they say about sufficiently advanced technology. It’s just like magic.”

“Yeah, but I never thought I’d see the day where there was  _ actual  _ magic involved, Dad.” Matt sounded almost breathless, his hand gently resting on Shiro’s shoulder now. “They have something they call magic, and I don’t know if it’s really magic magic? But it’s certainly something we can’t mimic. I tried -- and I even checked for like, wires and stuff. Not that there really would be anything with what they were showing me, but still.”

“Matt, calm down, you’re going to overwhelm him.” Sam looked rather indulgent even as he went to gently pat Shiro’s opposite shoulder, his touch careful as could be. “How are you feeling? You definitely look better than you did last time we saw you.”

He had to take a moment to think about that -- he hadn’t really been registering how he felt, instead just existing, trying to figure out what was going on around him. So when he did think about it, mentally checking off boxes, he blinked. “I...feel pretty good, honestly. I mean, it’s a bit strange having this arm here, but I don’t really hurt?” Slowly, his gaze moved around the room, as if looking for something -- for someone. “Wasn’t there someone else earlier?”

“There was Druid Prulkug who was seeing to your treatment,” Adin said, her voice soft as she turned back to the humans, her hands now gently probing along where skin met metal. “He is resting now. No one can go without sleep for too long, and using quintessence often drains us for all the good it does. He was the one that you...reacted strongly to.” Adin seemed amused at least, even as she watched Shiro’s face for reactions to what she was doing. “Commander Sendak was here as well, if that is who you meant. He is the commander of this vessel and the fleet attached to it.”

Sam’s hand gave the shoulder it was on a gentle squeeze. “I wouldn’t worry too much about any of that right now, Shiro. Right now, focus on getting better, okay? Which, if what the Druids say is right, it shouldn’t take you too long.”

Taking in a deep breath, Shiro gave Sam a nod. “...right.”

* * *

Sam was glad he had Matt with him on this mission -- the ease with which he picked up on not only the Galra’s technology but just interacting with the species in general. He took to the differences like a duck to water, and as a father and as a commanding officer, he couldn’t be more proud.

“Alright, Dad, think we’re ready?” Matt’s voice was full of excitement even as Sam was a bit wary. In the chaos of being taken aboard Sendak’s ship, they hadn’t managed to save many of their things. The smaller things managed to make it intact more than the larger, and while their clothing was alright...their communications systems weren’t.

If they didn’t report in soon, it was very likely that the Garrison would pronounce them  **dead** .

So Sam put a smile on his face and nodded, looking back and off to the side where Commander Sendak stood, waiting. They would be reporting in that they were well, but also...also introducing those at the Garrison to the fact that aliens did, in fact, exist and share the universe with them. As the commanding officer for the Galra in the system currently, Sendak would be the best choice to speak for them, but he couldn’t be in the broadcast. Not at the start.

Taking a deep breath, Matt nodded before sending the broadcast. The Garrison would likely take a little bit to respond, given they would be expecting audio only -- but they needed to be able to visually prove what had happened as best as they could.

It was a shame Shiro wouldn’t be able to be there with them -- he was still recovering, after all -- but the word of both Holts should suffice as proof that their pilot was still among the living as well.

Before Sam could dwell on it further, the screen before them came to life -- and he had to resist the urge to let out a deep sigh. Admiral Sanda appeared on the screen, looking as sharp and severe as she ever did, though upon seeing the two Holts, she relaxed slightly.

**_Slightly_ ** .

“Commander. Cadet. Status report.”

Taking a quick breath to steady himself, Sam stood tall, arm and hand positioning themselves correctly to salute the screen. “Ma’am, Commander and Cadet Holt reporting in. Lieutenant Shirogane is recovering from an accident and cannot be here to report himself. He is recovering, and should be only a few days before he is back to operational.”

Sanda’s eye twitched before she exhaled. “At ease, Commander, Cadet. Is the Lieutenant having an exacerbation? Do we need to have our medical personnel ready for him when you return home in a year’s time?”

Letting his hand drop, Sam assumed a rigid but more comfortable posture, feet about shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind him even as he shook his head at the screen. “No, ma’am. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt for when we  _ do  _ return, but that will be much quicker than a year. Our--”

“What do you mean, quicker than a year? Commander, explain.”

Sam clenched his jaw, trying to keep in control of himself. Yelling at Sanda wouldn’t be helpful at all, especially not given what was likely to be a historic event happening in the next few moments. “Our ship is in pieces currently, Admiral. We are alive, but our ship is in pieces. We discovered alien life. Or -- well,  **they** discovered  _ us _ , accidentally. While we were surveying the surface of Kerberos, an alien vessel was also surveying Kerberos, only they were doing so from a distance and hadn’t realized they were picking up three humans, their ship, and their equipment along with the samples they wanted.”

Sanda’s face screwed up, looking to be somewhere between irritated and confused. “Aliens? Are you telling me you’ve made contact with another species? Is that how you’re alive despite your vessel being in pieces?”

“Yes, ma’am. Would you like to speak with their commanding officer? He is standing here with us, but you mustn’t be frightened by his appearance. He and his men have been working tirelessly on Shiro and his arm, and on making sure we could contact you.” Of course, Sam somewhat hoped that the Admiral  _ was  _ affected by Sendak’s appearance, but he wouldn’t admit that, not in present company.

When Sanda nodded, Sam turned to Matt, nodding before he moved away, making room for Sendak to stand beside his father. Of course, the angle wouldn’t be the best, given the difference between the two in height, but Sam was content to step back a little bit, the screen itself growing as Sendak clenched his hand into a fist, pressing it against his chest before speaking. “Admiral Sanda, I am Commander Sendak, commanding officer of the sixth Imperial Fleet, carrying out the will of Emperor Lotor of the Galra Empire. I only wish that we were meeting in person rather than via our respective communications arrays.”

Sam didn’t have to look at Sanda to know how her posture shifted, how everything shifted as she took in the large Galra that was saluting in his own way. He and Matt had both been frightened and wary, but Sanda at least had distance to allow herself to get used to the idea of aliens, of Galra. Hearing her throat clearing, Sam looked back to the screen, keeping an eye on Sendak out of the corner of his eye, watching for tells that might assist him later -- not that he thought he would see any, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t watch for them regardless.

“I thank you for assisting my men, Commander,” Sanda finally got out, and to her credit? She  _ did  _ look grateful. However, she still looked almost as if something had died in front of her, and she was smelling it. She watched Sendak for a moment longer before her attention was back on Sam. “In light of this, Commander Holt, do you know how long it  _ will  _ be before you are back to Earth? I will need to brief the security council of this development, and we will need to know how much time we have to prepare.”

“If I may?” Sendak interjected, only a hint of a growl in his voice at being essentially ignored by the Admiral, something Sam was well aware of but Sanda might not have noticed given the connection and the distance. “We can arrive at your planet at any time. We are trying to wait for Lieutenant Shirogane to finish recovery before we do so, however, so that when we hand over medical care to your people, it will all be maintenance rather than the initial recovery. If we  _ wished _ , we could be in your orbit in a matter of dobashes.”

“Doboshes are their time unit for minutes, ma’am,” Matt chimed in helpfully from off to the side, unseen but acknowledged by Sanda nevertheless with a brief nod.

Gaze turning to Sendak once more, Sanda frowned. “Understood, Commander. Commander. My men will compose themselves in a manner befitting officers of the Galaxy Garrison, and I thank you for your hospitality. I will hail when we have come to a decision or need more information. Expect to hear back from me in the next few days.”

Then without any warning, the signal itself cut out, and both Matt and Sam let out a long breath. “I am  **so** sorry for her, Commander Sendak,” Matt was saying almost immediately. “Admiral Sanda isn’t the most caring individual on a good day, but that was...that was--”

“Son, you don’t have to apologize for the Admiral. I’m sure she can do so herself once she...well.” Sam coughed, covering his mouth with his fist for a moment before looking away. “But, Matt is right, she is not the easiest flag officer to get along with in general, but she has the good of the Earth in mind. I don’t believe there was any slight intended on her part, Commander.”

A soft rumbling noise came from the Galra’s throat, causing both Holts to look up in alarm for a moment, but instead of seeing anger as they half expected? They saw what appeared to be a grin spreading across Sendak’s face. “If that is the case, then she and I will get along well, Commander.” He was  _ laughing _ , the giant furball! “I am not a diplomat by trade, I observe and report, I fight when my Emperor needs it of me, but rarely am I interacting with a new species like this. The fact that we are of like mind in this is reassuring, I assure you.”

Sam and Matt looked towards one another before shrugging. If Sendak was mad enough to get along well with Sanda…? Well, they wouldn’t complain.

(Matt honestly found Sendak easier to get along with, though.  _ Much  _ easier. Sam was inclined to agree.)

* * *

Never had Shiro thought he would be so grateful to be back in his uniform. It wasn’t something that was exactly  _ practical  _ to have when they went to space, but having reminders of home often helped keep them grounded so the three of them had all elected to take them. Between that and having the electrostimulator bracelet on his left arm once again, he felt almost back to normal.

The only differences were his arm, and his hair. Of course, the shock of white hair at the front, threatening to cover part of his face could be passed off as a fashion statement, and maybe once he got home and had free time, he could go find some hair dye to make it go back to it’s usual black. His arm, however, wasn’t so easy to pass off. It was metal, and nothing would change that, even if the metal in question was extremely lightweight. In fact, aside from where metal met flesh, he couldn’t really  _ feel  _ a difference between his arms.

As he reached over to tug the sleeve down over the electrostimulator bracelet, the door to his recovery room opened, admitting Sendak, which in turn caused Shiro’s face to flush lightly. It wasn’t that they exactly interacted much, really, but something about Sendak’s mere presence made Shiro feel...well, much younger than he was, like he was back in school, fumbling while trying to talk to Adam the first time. Still, he cleared his throat and made an attempt at the Galra salute, curling his prosthetic’s fingers into a fist and pressing it to his chest. “Commander Sendak…?”

Holding his organic hand up, Sendak waved Shiro off. “At ease, Lieutenant. I was merely checking to see how you were doing, if you feel ready to return to your home?”

_ ‘I really  _ **_don’t_ ** _ ,’ _ Shiro thought absently. The entire time they had spent with the Galra, he hadn’t been able to leave this one room. Food had been brought to him, there was a connected bathroom, and people came and went. He hadn’t had a chance to explore any, or get to really know anyone the way the Holts had. It felt as if his chance to do so would be gone the moment they traveled to Earth -- that Shiro’s chance to ever do so would be gone.

But if nothing else, Shiro knew how to put the mission before himself. And while this wasn’t strictly the mission he had been sent on, this was still a mission, for the betterment of mankind. “I’m ready, Commander.” He put a smile on his face, moving to close the distance between them. “Not gonna lie, I wish I could’ve had a chance to stay longer, but we can’t always have what we want, can we?”

“That we cannot,” Sendak nodded, watching Shiro carefully, as if trying to make sure he was capable of walking on his own -- which really, was silly, given it had been his arm affected, not his legs! “If you would accompany me to the bridge, then, we will be on our way. I’m sure your people will be glad to see you.” Stepping back, Sendak stepped just outside the room, waiting for Shiro to follow before leading the way to the lift.

As the lift carried them up to the bridge, Shiro couldn’t help but look over and up at Sendak, taking in his features. One might find the Galra frightening -- and really, Shiro wouldn’t blame them for that in the slightest -- but on the whole, he seemed much more disciplined and determined than frightening. He was certainly domineering, even, his presence filling whatever space he was in, and all Shiro could do was accept that.

Even if it was almost  **suffocating** in the small space.

His mouth opened, ready to speak, wanting to thank the Commander once more, but then the lift doors opened and Sendak was quickly stepping out of the lift and onto the bridge. He had to quickly close his mouth before following along after, eyes taking in everything that he could about the room in one go, quickly noting where the Holts were waiting, Matt grinning while Sam had a more sedate smile on his face. Giving Sendak one last glance, he moved to stand with the Holts, automatically moving to At Ease, hands clasped behind his back and his feet standing shoulder width apart, matching Sam. Matt seemed a bit too energetic for formality, but seeing Shiro seemed to at least calm him enough that he also did the same, with Sam standing in between the two.

“Kraldox, bring us into orbit and open hailing frequencies.” Shiro’s heart fluttered in his chest as Sendak spoke, issuing orders so that they could begin the lengthy process of returning to Earth -- because there was no way it would be short and sweet, but hearing Sendak speak...his voice was mesmerizing, when he let himself just listen. Combined with saying words that felt almost like they came straight out of an old sci-fi series, and he could admit to himself there was some sort of affection there for the Galra Commander.

He wouldn’t admit it to anyone  _ else _ , but to himself? Yes.

After a few tense moments, a large screen came into focus before Sendak and the Kerberos crew, showing Admiral Sanda once again, along with other ranking officers of the Garrison, including Commander Iverson. “Commander Sendak, Commander Holt. It is good to see you again.”

“Admiral Sanda,” Sam nodded, remaining where he was, the smile on his face fading. “I take it Earth is ready for our arrival? Where do we need to go?” Shiro was almost certain that the crew knew where to land, but it seemed as if it gave them a semblance of control over the situation to ask.

“Outside the base, the eastern side has been cleared for your arrival.” Iverson’s voice, gruff as it was, was more than welcome, causing Shiro to relax almost immediately. He kept his back straight, his feet spread, but his shoulders relaxed and jaw untensed. “We will be awaiting your arrival, I am sure you are eager to return to Earth, but we will need to debrief before you can set foot in the Garrison,  _ all  _ of you.”

Shiro expected for Sam to speak up, but instead was surprised when Sendak’s deep voice replied. “Understood, Commander. We will submit to your wishes.” Organic hand curled into a fist and bumped against his chest. “Vrepit sa.”

Sanda and her entourage saluted before the image cut out. As soon as it was gone, Sendak was turning to talk to his men, issuing orders in a low tone as the Holts each hoisted a bag onto their shoulders. Not much had been able to be salvaged from their ship, but they had gotten what they could. A third bag sat at Sam’s feet, and Shiro leaned down to pick it up with his prosthetic, slinging it onto his shoulder with ease. (Probably  _ easier  _ than it had been before, if he were completely honest with himself.)

“Well, I guess this is it,” Matt smiled, looking from Sam to Shiro and back again. “Time to go home. Our adventure is over.”

Shiro snorted, shaking his head. “An adventure for you, maybe. I didn’t get to have all that much excitement. Besides, this is bigger than an adventure, this is going to change things for humanity in a monumental way, Matt.”

Matt waved Shiro off, scrunching up his face. “Oh, c’mon, okay, yeah, you didn’t get to have too much fun but? We were the humans who made first contact with the Galra. That’s gonna be something. Maybe we’ll even get to go meet more Galra in the future, that would be fun, don’t you think?”

“Mm.” Shiro hummed, thinking, but before he could really comment, Sam was moving, steering the two younger men towards the lift once more.

“We’ll have plenty of time to talk about that later, boys. Right now, we have family and Admiral Sanda waiting for us.” Sam looked over his shoulder towards Shiro and Matt, smiling before they all boarded on the lift, leaving Shiro pressed closely against Sendak...who didn’t seem to  _ mind  _ at least.

“We will be stopping for Druid Prulkug to join us before disembarking,” the Galra in question said, and Shiro could feel his voice as much as hear it, with how little room there seemed to be in the lift. 

_ ‘Galra must  _ **_really_ ** _ not have much of a concept of personal space,’ _ Shiro thought to himself as the lift stopped long enough for Prulkug to indeed join them, making the already tight fit even tighter. Not that Shiro minded, not really, he actually somewhat enjoyed the closeness given the way his body was reacting, his heart racing, breath coming quicker, though he managed to at least keep most of that to himself.

Or at least, it seemed he did. As the lift opened and the others moved to get out, Sendak cast a look back at him with a furrow of his brows, pausing as if he was going to say something before thinking better of it and moving out of the lift, leaving Shiro to let out a soft sigh.

At least getting to the surface wouldn’t be too difficult, the group of five having decided to take a smaller vessel while the main ship took its time in figuring out what it needed to do to land properly without disturbing anything unnecessarily. The ride down was quick, quicker than Shiro had anticipated -- and quicker than Sam and Matt had anticipated as well, it seemed, despite the fact they had spent more time with their hosts than Shiro had.

A gentle bump, not even enough to knock them off balance, and they were back on the surface of Earth.

They were home.

Shiro had never looked forward to this moment any  **_less_ ** than he did right then.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come visit me on [tumblr!](http://meythecat.tumblr.com/)


End file.
